Water-heating apparatus.



J. W.-GAMBLE.' lWATER HEATING APPARATUS. APPLIGATION FILED JULY 31,1909.

- Patented June 23, 1914.

[..wI HM... .Mwmulnmwlhw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;-

JOSEPH W; GAMIBLE, '0F PHILADELPHIA,VPENNSYLVANIA, .t'l.SSll(l\l`()R T0 HARRISON SAFETY BOILER WORKS, QE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION F PENNSYLVANIA.

vTo all wko-m it map/"concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. GAMBLE, a

citizen of the United Sta-tes, residing at Philadelphia in the county of Philadelphia and `State ci Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Heating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention, relates to apparatus for heatingwater for usein the boilers of steamengines or in heating systems, and it is directed particularly to the provision of a water-heating apparatus to be installed in or adjacent to a locomotive round-house to supply water for washing and filling the boilers of the locomotives.

'The object of the invention is to' provide an apparatus for heating water which is of special utility in round-house work, which is reliable andl eflicienty in operation, and which is economical in that it is arranged to utilize vthe heat in either or both `the steam and water blown oii' from a'locoinotive in emptying the latter to heat the water which is employed for washing and lling,

In filling a locomotive boiler, it is desir able to use water at or near aiemperat'ure of 212,4 Fahrenheit, in order to reduce as much as possible the time during which a comotives and one for use in filling the The invention involves the use of two storage-tanks with pipes for supplying wa ter thereto and-drawing water therefrom,

heating devices whereby the'water stored in' the Vtwo tanks 'is heated, and devices which operate automatically to maintain the water in one of the tanks at the temperature desii-ed for the water employed in wash ing thc boilers of the locomotives., In order to secure economy in operation, the heating of the water'in the two storage-tanks is effected by either or both the steam and water drawn Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J Application 'filed July 31, 1909. Serial-No. 510,623.

une 23, 1914.

. off from the locomotive in emptying thelatter',

both the steam and water being introduced into the filling water when both `are substantiall y free from impurities and the steam only being sol employed when the water con tains such impurities as to make it unsuitable for further use in a boiler; in the latter case, the blow-oli' from a locomotive is carried through a suitable steam-trap and if desirable a separator may be employed through which thesteam is carried. Preferably the steam or the steam 'and water blown oif from the locomotiveare carried directly into thetank for the filling-water, so as toheat the water therein and the steam then passes through a suitable pipe to a heater provided for heating the washing water priorto or after its admission to the storage-'tank forthe washing-water. The water in this tank is constantly maintained at a predetermined temperature, and for this purpose automatic devices are employed for controllingr the operation of the heater to heat water which is admitted to this tank.

In the preferred form of the invention, this automatic' means includes a thermostat extending into the storage-tank for the washing-water and controlling a valve in the pipe employed for carrying steam to the'heater. To further insure the maintenance of the desired ,temperature of the washing-water y:in

this storage-tank, a circulating system is provided, whereby water is circulated from the storage-tank through the heater, and preferably the circulation Aof water in this syste'm is also governed yby the temperature of the water within the tank. For effecting thiscirculati-on of the water, a pump may be employed, whose speed is automatically controlled, orthe heater may be arranged to. act as an injector, in which latter case the provision of a. circulating pump is avoided. The heater for the wateradmitted to the tank for the washing-water and for the ivater circulated as abovedescribed may be of the type'employing trays or -a spray,- as is usual in water-heaters, or this heater may be. in the form of a 4jet-condenser the latter construction is that whichl preferto utilize,-

ioo

but the type of heater employing the trays or the waterfspray maybe employed as de-;

sii-ed, as may also the'direct injection of the steam into the storageltak.

drawings, in which- Figu diagrammatically, and view illustrating the heater.

re l shows the a paratus employed, ig. 2 is a sectional Referring to these drawings, 1 indicates a storage-tank, in which is stored the water for filling the boilers of the locomotives,

.and 2 indicates a second tank for the ,storage of the washing-water.. Cold water is admitted to the storage-tank 1 through a cold water supply pipe 3, and this pipe has -a valve 4 therein which is operated automatically b a float 5 in the tank 1, so that the level ci the water in tank -1 is maintained substantially constant. The water for fillingv a locomotive is drawn from the tank 1 through a pipe 6 connected to the upper portion of the tank by a pump 7 which forces the water throng a pi e 8 having a suitable valve 9 therein. In eating water in tank 1, I utilize the heat in the. steam or the steam and water blown ol from a locomotive in emptying the latter, and this may be done in an suitable manner. In the drawings I have own a pipe 10 extending along the side of the tank 1 near the bottom thereof, and a plurality of con-4 nections 11 distributed along the length of the pipe 10 andentering the tank. If the water is suiiiciently free from impurities to permit of its further use in a boiler, both the 'water and the steam exhaustedV roin the boiler in emptying the Ylatter are ,carried through pipe 10 and into the tank 1`.- 1f, on the other hand, the water from a boiler contains such impurities as to make it unsuit.

able for further use the water and steam are carriedto a suitable trap, which permits the steam only to pass through the pipe 10 to the tank 1, and if desired a separator may,

be provided in the steam irsage. If both the water and steam are a tted to tankl,

the latter i's of such capacity as to enable it.

to receive this blowfoi water in addition -to the supply of water already therein admitted through the pipe 3. Within the tank 1, the steam rises t ough the waterfin the tank and more or less of it is condensed and imparts its heat to the water in the tank.-

The steam which is not condensed rises to the top of the tank and passes out through a pipe 12 connected to the tank. this pipe is a relief-valve 13, so that if the pressure within the tank rises above a predetermined point the pressure will be relieved by exhausting a portion of the steam to the atmosphere.

A. pipe 14 is connected to the p1 e 12, so as to carry the steam from the tan 1 to a water-heater y 15, which is either mounted within the tank 2 or connected to the tank bv a pipe 16, as shown Fig. 1. The heater 15 may be of .anysuitable construction, but that which 'I prefer toemploy -is one similar to a jet-condenser, as shown in Fig. 2. Cold water is supplied to the heater through a pipe 17. having a valve 18 therein, which is automatically opened and closed by a iioat 19 4within the tank 2, so as to maintain the desired levelof'water within the tank., vThe cold water supplied by pipe 17 enters the heater at the top thereof through a suitable nozzle 20, and the steam carried to the heater by the pipe 14 enters the heater-at the side through the port 21, so that the steam iows around the nozzle l2() and 'becomes mingled with the water supplied' to the heater.

In the pipe 14 is a diaphra -valve 22, which is automatically contro ed so vas'to open and close in response to changes of the conditions within the tank 2.l For effecting this control of valve 22,--I have provided a thermostat 23 mounted upon the tank 2 and extending within the same; this thermostat is connected to the diaphragm-valve 22 by a pipe 24,' so that when the temperature of the water within tank 2 falls below that desired for the washing-water, the yvalve 22 will be opened more or less, so as to admit steam freni the tank 1 through pipe 14 to the heater 15, where the steam mingling with'the water passing through the heaterV will raise the temperature of the water to that desired. In order .to facilitate the maintenance of this desired temperature of the water in tank 2, a circulating system is provided whereby the water stored in tank 2 is circiilated through the heater 15. This circulating system includes a pi e 25 connected'to the bottom of the ta 2, and a pipe 26 connected to the pipe 17 which leads to the heater 15. For circulating the weten through these pipes, the heater 15, when in the form of a jet-condenser, may be constructed to act as an injector,'so as to maintain the circulation of the water through pipes 25 and 26, butA if it is not desired to emplo this means for circulating the water or ii t e conditions under which the apparatus is employed do not permit of it, a pump 27 may be provided, to which the pipes 25 and 26 are connected and which is operated to maintain the desired circulation. This pum may be su plied yvith steam from any suita le source, ut in order to secure economy of operation the steam for operating the pump may' be drawn from the pipe 14 which carries the steam from the tank 1 to the heater 15. For this purpose, a pipe'28 is provided, leading to the pump 2f? from a point in the pipe 14 between the diaphragm- 'valve 22 and the heater 15; and a backioo iio

l 14 is in excess'of that required to operate the v 28 to the pump 27, and the latter starts or` pump 27, but when the supply of steam does exceed this amount the valve will o en, so as to admit the excessof steamI to the eater 15. The diaphragm-valve 22 may be so :ar ranged that it will never close entirely, -so that at all times suliieient steam is allowed to pass through the pipe28-to keep the pump 27 in motion. 4

Y rI he operation of the apparatus constructed as above described is as follows A constant supply of water for filling the boilers of the locomotives "is maintained within tank 1 bythe pipe 3, and this waiter is heated to a temperature approaching 212 Fahrenheit by the steam'or the steam and water admitted to the tank through the pipe 10. The excess of steam over that required for keeping the water in tank 1 at this temperature'passes .to the top of /the 'tank and then through the pipes 12 and 14.. If the water Within tank 2 is at the temperature desired. for the washing-water, that is, at about 130 Fahrenheit, the thermostat 23 will keep the diaphragm-valve 22 closed, S0 as not to permit steam to pass', or keep it so nearly closed that the steam passing valve 22will not be suiiicient to open valve29 and will merely serve to keep the pump 27 in motion. If the temperature of the:wa ter in tank v2 falls below this, however, the thermostat 23 will operate to open the valve 22. Steam then passes through the pipes v14 and resumes its normal speed, so as to draw water from the bottom of the tank 2 and force it through the pipe 26 to the heater 15. If

' the pipe 14 is more than suicient to operate pump 27, it will open the-valve 29 and pass into the leater 15, wherein it will become mingled with the water brought toi the heater by the pipe 26 of the circulating system and by the cold water supply pipe l 7 (when the valve 18 is opened), so as to heat this water and thus bring the temperature of the water in the tank 2 up to the desired point. The supply of water 4for washing the boilers of the locomotives' is thus maintained at the proper temperature at all times by-mechanisrn which operates automatically`to raise the temperature of the water whenever it falls below that desired, and this water may be drawn ofi" by a suitable pump or by gravity througha pipe 30'connected to the tank 2.

Instead of the form of heater for the filling water herein shown and described where? by the steam for heating is carried into the bottom of the tank and allowed to pass upwardly through the water, other forms of heaters may be employed and good results obtained, as for instance, a heater employing means for spraying the water into the steam or trays over which the water flows while steam is rising through them. Furthermore,

it will be apparent that the relief 'valve 13 should be so set as to open only'on a pressure higher than that on which the valve 29 opens, this valve 13 being employed merely as a rotect-ive device. i 'iile I have illustrated. in the accompanying drawings and described abovethe construction of the apparatus vwhich I pre'- fer to employ in practising my invention, I. wish it understood that 'this construction may be modified in the respects to which yI have referred and in many others while still embodying the. features of my inven tion. Such modifications, therefore, consider as coming within the scope of my invention and I aim to cover them by the said tanks to heat the water therein, a heater for the water to' be stored in the Second tank, a pipe connecting the first tank with the heater for carrying steam to the heater, an automatically operated valve in said pipe, a pipe connecting the heater to said. second tank, and means for supplying water to the heater, substantially-as set forth.

2. The combination of' two water storage tanks, a supply-pipe for admitting water to one of said tanks, means for carrying steam to said tank to heat the water therein, a heater for the water to be'stored inthe second tank, a pi e connecting the first tank to said heater or carrying steam to the heater, a valve in said pipea thermostat extending within said secondv tank and operatin said valve, a pipe connecting the heater water to the heater, and means for withdrawing water from said tanks, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of two water storage tanks, asupply-pipe for admitting water to one of said. tanks, means for carrying steam to said tank to heat the water therein, a heater connected to`the second Ytank Afor heating the water to be stored in the second tank, a pipe connecting the first tank with said heater, a valve in said pipe, a thermostat projecting into said second tank and automatically operating said valve, and means for maintaining a circulation of water from said second tank through said heater, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of two water storage tanks, means for admitting water to`one of said tanks, means for carrying steamto said tank to heat the water therein, a heater connected to the second tank for heating the water to be stored .in the second tank, a pipe connecting the first tank with the to t e second tank, means for supplying heater for carrying steam to the heater, a valve in said ipe, a thermostat rojectin in the secondp tank and controing sai I, valve, means includin a pump for maintaining a circulation o the Water in the second tank through the heater, and a pipe for supplying steam to the pum from the said pipeconnecting the first ta to the heater, substantially7 as set forth. p

5. The combination of two water storage tanks, a supply-pipe for admitting Water to one of said tanks, means for carrying steam to `said tank to heat the water therein, a

' heater connected to the'second tank for heating the Water to be stored n-the secondi tank, a pipe connecting the first tank with said heater, a valve in said pipe, a thermo- Statextending within said second tank and Operating sald valve, means including a pump for circulating water from said sec 20 ond .tank through said heater, aA pipe connecting the pump to said pipe at a'point in tholatter between said heater and Said valve, and a. second valve in the pip'eieom necting` the first tank and the heater located 25 between the heater and the point of connection of said pipes, substantially as set Ronnnfr G. CLIFTON. p

It is hereby certified that the assignee in Letters Patent No. 1,101,428, granted June 23, 1914, upon the application of Joseph W. Gamble, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for an improvement in Water-Heating Apparatus," was erroneously described and specified Aest va corporationuf Pennsylvania, whereas it should have been described and specified (ae a cqya/rtnershz'p of Pennsybvam'a; and an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 53, for the word drawn read blown; and thatthe said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the oase in the Patent Oee.

Signed and sealed this 14th day of J uly, A. D., 1914.

J. T. NEWTON,

[SEAL 

